Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38459123›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2024

Viral genome sequencing to decipher in-hospital SARS-CoV-2 transmission events.

Elisabeth Esser, Eva C Schulte, Alexander Graf, Alexander Karollus, Nicholas H Smith, Thomas Michler, Stefan Dvoretskii, Angel Angelov, Michael Sonnabend, Silke Peter and 12 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 32% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Longitudinal surveillance and transmission ofAntimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

22 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.

Elisabeth Esser *Institute of Virology, School of Medicine & Health, Technical University of Munich/Helmholtz Munich, Munich, Germany.
Eva C Schulte *Institute of Virology, School of Medicine & Health, Technical University of Munich/Helmholtz Munich, Munich, Germany.
Alexander GrafLaboratory for Functional Genome Analysis, Gene Center, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Alexander KarollusSchool of Computation, Information and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany.
Nicholas H SmithSchool of Computation, Information and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany.
Thomas MichlerInstitute of Virology, School of Medicine & Health, Technical University of Munich/Helmholtz Munich, Munich, Germany.
Stefan DvoretskiiSchool of Computation, Information and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany.
Angel AngelovNGS Competence Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Michael SonnabendNGS Competence Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Silke PeterNGS Competence Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Christina EngesserNGS Competence Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Aleksandar RadonicMethod development, Research Infrastructure & IT (MFI), Robert-Koch Institute (RKI), Berlin, Germany.
Andrea ThürmerMethod development, Research Infrastructure & IT (MFI), Robert-Koch Institute (RKI), Berlin, Germany.
Max von KleistDepartment of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität (FU) Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Friedemann GebhardtInstitute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Clarissa Prazeres da CostaInstitute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Dirk H BuschInstitute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Maximilian MuenchhoffGerman Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Munich Partner Site, Munich, Germany.
Helmut BlumLaboratory for Functional Genome Analysis, Gene Center, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Oliver T KepplerGerman Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Munich Partner Site, Munich, Germany.
Julien GagneurSchool of Computation, Information and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany. gagneur@in.tum.de.
Ulrike ProtzerInstitute of Virology, School of Medicine & Health, Technical University of Munich/Helmholtz Munich, Munich, Germany. protzer@tum.de.
Technical University of Munich · DELudwig-Maximilians-Universität München · DERobert Koch Institute · DEBernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Tübingen · DEHelmholtz Zentrum München · DEUniversity of Tübingen · DEGerman Center for Infection Research · DE

Funding

Bavarian Ministry of Science and Culture FOR-COVID consortiumFederal German Ministry of Education and Science (BMBF) 01KI2016
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the need to better define in-hospital transmissions, a need that extends to all other common infectious diseases encountered in clinical settings. To evaluate how whole viral genome sequencing can contribute to deciphering nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 transmission 926 SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes from 622 staff members and patients were collected between February 2020 and January 2021 at a university hospital in Munich, Germany, and analysed along with the place of work, duration of hospital stay, and ward transfers. Bioinformatically defined transmission clusters inferred from viral genome sequencing were compared to those inferred from interview-based contact tracing. An additional dataset collected at the same time at another university hospital in the same city was used to account for multiple independent introductions. Clustering analysis of 619 viral genomes generated 19 clusters ranging from 3 to 31 individuals. Sequencing-based transmission clusters showed little overlap with those based on contact tracing data. The viral genomes were significantly more closely related to each other than comparable genomes collected simultaneously at other hospitals in the same city (n = 829), suggesting nosocomial transmission. Longitudinal sampling from individual patients suggested possible cross-infection events during the hospital stay in 19.2% of individuals (14 of 73 individuals). Clustering analysis of SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequences can reveal cryptic transmission events missed by classical, interview-based contact tracing, helping to decipher in-hospital transmissions. These results, in line with other studies, advocate for viral genome sequencing as a pathogen transmission surveillance tool in hospitals.

Indexed as

COVID-19Cross InfectionGenome, ViralHospitals, UniversityHumansSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID38459123
PMCPMC10923895
OpenAlexW4392581145

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.